Ask.fm bought by IAC - 'it will be made safer', new owner promises
Ask.fm, the social networking site which has been linked to teen suicides, has been bought by IAC, the owners of brands such as Tinder, Vimeo and The Daily Beast.
The IAC has said that millions of dollars would be invested to make the site safer for users, adding that violence will not be allowed.
The website, which has about 180 million monthly users, came under fire last year when teen Hannah Smith took her own life after being bullied on the platform.
This saw brands such as Save The Children, Specsavers and Vodafone pulling their ads.
Ask.com boss Doug Leeds told the BBC today that the suicide of Smith was “heart wrenching”, adding “we have the resources to bring to make sure horrible, tragic situations don’t happen in the future”.
The founders of Ask.fm, brothers Ilja and Mark Terebin, will now leave the company.